Morgan Co. Young Adult Recruited For An “Experience Of A Lifetime”

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

MORGAN CO., Ala. (WHNT) -- A Morgan County young adult will be leaving this week for an Air Force program not many are selected to participate in.

Many 23-year-olds have just graduated college or are working toward that diploma. Others are already working and getting their careers started.

Jake Randolph has just done one of those, and in a few days will take the first step in the latter.

The 23-year-old graduated from UNA in May. Instead of filling out job applications, he had a different goal in mind: the Air Force. "It's just fascinating to me to part of some of the best technology in the world," Randolph says.

He says he is one of eighty people in the nation to be recruited to Undergraduate Pilot Training. "It's very selective for a lot of reasons. I mean, flight's very hard on your body you have to be in top physical condition as far as your eyesight and anything like that."

He says his love for flying has always been a driving factor in his dreams. "I've actually gotten in a small plane a few times and there's nothing like it."

The thrill and dream of flying in those small planes is eclipsed now that he's accepted into the program. Now, Jake has the opportunity to follow his dreams to the fullest extent. "The F-22 is really fascinating to me."

One day, he would like to fly one and make it his career. He says now that he's accepted to the program, which he says is an honor just in itself, he hopes he'll finally get that chance to make it happen. "I really can't wait. I've been doing a lot of research on it, and it just seems like it will be an experience of a lifetime."